Clinton said the violence in Tibet and Beijing's failure "to use its full leverage with Sudan to stop" genocide in Darfur present "opportunities for presidential leadership."

Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he will join German Chancellor Angela Merkel in boycotting the opening festivities. The decision by the two world leaders, and Clinton's call, illustrate the growing pressure on the U.S. government to respond to China's violent crackdown against a democracy movement in Tibet.

Most leading U.S. politicians — including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a vocal China critic — have stopped short of calling for a presidential snub of the Olympics, which run Aug. 8-24. Clinton's rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama, did not address a boycott directly in a statement issued Monday. But he said "there should be consequences" if China does not ease pressure on Tibet.

Bush is scheduled to attend the Games' opener, and White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Monday that "there hasn't been any change" in those plans. Fratto said the administration has "a great deal of concern about human rights in China." He added: "We have never been afraid to express those views either directly by the president or the president's senior advisers when they travel to China."

John Bolton, the Bush administration's former ambassador to the United Nations, said he agreed with Clinton's call. "Boycotting the opening ceremonies doesn't hurt the athletes," he said, "but it does send a political message."

Ken Lieberthal, a China expert at the University of Michigan and former member of Bill Clinton's National Security Council, said he'd advise against "insulting the Chinese directly on an issue of face."

Lieberthal said Bush should quietly reassure Chinese President Hu Jintao of his plans to attend the opening ceremonies but express concern that domestic political pressure is making it harder for him to stick to that position. Bush "might actually get something out of this" if he asked for concessions to guarantee his attendance at the ceremonies, Lieberthal said.

Lieberthal said Americans have plenty of reasons to avoid antagonizing the Chinese, chief among them that "they loan us more money than almost anybody else does." In addition, a friendly approach is more likely to win Chinese cooperation in resolving the civil war in Darfur and in persuading the governments of North Korea and Iran to drop their nuclear ambitions.

Contributing: Mark Memmott; AP

Enlarge By Charles Dharapak, AP Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton is urging President Bush to boycott the opening of the Olympics in Beijing, citing the Chinese government's performance on human rights.

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